Nyctophilia
by ThexOnexWhoxWanders
Summary: Theo thought he would die alone. Zora had other plans. Theo/OC, Season 6 AU, Post-Season 6 AU. Rated M for language and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : I have no idea what this is. I didn't even like Theo until the last few episodes of the series. Now, for some reason, I adore him and his character. So here's this really strange thing I wrote with an additional character no one really knows about, because why not.

 **One**

He knew this was it. The end of the line. The last few moments of the miserable waste of life his had become since the Dread Doctors had betrayed him, since Scott McCall had caught him in his web of lies, since he'd come back to Beacon Hills and gotten tangled up in all the shit that went down here.

His left cheek was cut open, so deep and so wide that his tongue, as it swiped against the inside of his mouth, could taste the blood seeping inward. Multiple lacerations dug deep into his ribcage, a gunshot wound to the left shoulder, an arrow protruding from his leg. His eyes still glowed a dark amber and he growled and roared, but the fight was fast fading from him.

This was how it'd all end – him, alone, in a fucking sewage tunnel of all places, while the rest of Scott's pack were caught up defending one another from the Anuk-Ite. Maybe it was better this way. Or maybe he just really wanted to believe that.

The hunter that had shot the last arrow, now lodged deep into his right leg, smirked down at Theo, crossbow reloaded and pointed steadily at the chimera's heart. Theo snarled at the smug expression, at his own defeat, but he could do nothing else except drag himself backwards until his spine collided with the cold, hard concrete wall.

"Well, look at you," the hunter, a broad-shouldered, nameless man in his forties, cooed to Theo nastily. "All alone. Where's your pack, boy?"

The other hunter behind the cross-bow-wielder chuckled. "Doesn't look like he has one. Probably the boy Monroe said no one would come for."

 _No one would come for_. _No one's coming for me_.

Fear seeped into his body; cold, unforgiving fear, unlike any he'd ever felt. Even in that Hell Dunbar had put him in. This was different.

Even in that pit, he hadn't been alone. Not really. But no one was coming for him – he was so expendable, now. So… worthless.

Baring his teeth, he growled as the man holding the crossbow crouched down in front of Theo. His wicked smile, his overt joy at having the chimera on his last limbs, made Theo's stomach hollow out. He refused to close his eyes and resign himself to his fate – if death was really coming for him, Theo would stare it straight in the face.

"How's it feel, boy?" the hunter said, grinning from ear to ear. "Knowing you're gonna die all alone?"

"He's not alone."

Theo's head snapped towards the voice, one that was too familiar, too good to be true. Was he hallucinating? Was his brain trying to give him some final sense of comfort before it was all over? She'd never come for him, not when the others needed her, not when shit was hitting the fan and they needed her skills. She was essentially an extension of Scott's pack, now. She was one of them.

Leather boot-clad legs stepped into view, at the very end of the tunnel's entrance. Zora. Theo blinked, fluttering his eyes open and closed several times, trying to force the hallucination away. But her image stuck.

There was a dark look on her face. One he was well acquainted with. She was primed to kill with absolutely no remorse, and the gleaming karambit daggers gripped tight in both of her hands bespoke this, a suitable comparison to her hard, gray eyes. He stopped trying to force the mirage away. If Zora Haque was the very last thing he ever saw, he could accept that.

But the hunters in front of him had flinched at her voice, too – the one with the crossbow now standing, turned so that his profile faced the chimera on the floor, so he could keep both Zora and Theo in his sights. His partner had aimed his shotgun at her, cocked it back like he was ready to fire. Theo could hear the man's heartbeat pound devastatingly quick in his chest.

"Listen, sweetheart," crossbow-guy said, but there was an uneasy current in his tone. Like he could sense the danger that Zora was, the fight she exuded. Theo could relate. He'd sensed that about her, too, when she first showed up in Beacon Hills four months ago, when she'd questioned him on his involvement with the fight against the Wild Hunt. It seemed like forever ago, now. It seemed off. She shouldn't be here. Not when the fight was at the high school. Not when Scott needed her.

Theo vaguely heard the hunter warn Zora that she, "shouldn't get involved" in the situation, watched as she mirrored the sick, wicked smile the man had only just moments ago looked at Theo with.

"This seems to be precisely the kind of situation I want to get involved in," she said, coming closer yet, gray eyes taking in the men's placement, their weapons, clearly gauging how she would begin her attack. Theo couldn't move. Could hardly breath – God, he was so afraid this would all turn out to be imagined. That he was really just lying there, bleeding out. Dying.

"Look-"the hunter made to reason with her again, but Zora seized the opportunity and lunged forward, faster than any human should really be able to move, and sunk one of her daggers into the hunter's neck. Blood sprayed through the air, hovered in a mist just over Theo, and as he pulled oxygen into his lungs, he could taste its bittersweet scent.

The man with the crossbow immediately fell to the floor while his partner's finger flickered towards the shotgun's trigger. Still, Zora was quick, leaping forward, bracing one foot against the wall and pushing off to miss the fired shot, wrapped her legs around the man as she sliced through his neck, too, and fell with his body onto the murky concrete floor.

Blood covered her chest – he couldn't be sure if any of it was hers or not – but it suited her in the most exquisite way. As her eyes landed on him, finally – finally – Theo's irises faded back into their light green-blue, claws retracting, fangs sinking back into his gums.

The minor distraction she'd provided from his pain was over. He gasped, loud, and clutched at his abdomen, his leg, his shoulder – everything burned because the bullets had been laced with wolfsbane.

Suddenly, Zora was crouched before him, bloodspattered face looking over his injuries. "They'll heal," she reassured him in a quiet tone, one of her hands grazing over his chest to inspect the lacerations. "But we've gotta get you to Deaton's clinic. ASAP."

"Why are you here?" he couldn't help but ask as she slipped one arm under his shoulder and carefully began edging him to his feet. He tried his best to help – he was at least 50 pounds heavier than she was – but couldn't stop staring at her face, those gray eyes, couldn't stop thinking _this can't be real_. "Shouldn't you be with the others?"

She managed to get him on his feet fully and started trudging towards the tunnel exit with him, taking on as much weight as she could, one hand wrapped tightly against his side, her warm body pressed hard up against his. Some of his blood seeped onto her, mixing in with her already reddened shirt. "We heard you got ambushed," she said simply. As if that could possibly answer all of his questions.

Grip tightening, she pushed them forward more. "Let's get you to Deaton. All right?"

Theo just nodded. What else could he say?

Part of him felt like he really was supposed to die alone down there.

000

Theo watched Zora the entire time Deaton was treating his wounds, slowly extracting the wolfsbane so his body could heal itself. She kept checking her phone, frowning, pacing all around the clinic, until at one point, she sighed in relief.

"It's over," she informed him and Deaton, exhaustion tinging her voice. "It's all over. They… they managed to stop it."

Deaton's deep brown eyes blinked up in surprise and joy. "And the others?"

"They're okay," Zora assured him, managing a small smile. "They're all okay."

The trio breathed a collective sigh – the Anuk-Ite was gone, the war against Monroe was over, their lives weren't in immediate danger anymore. Theo glanced away from the mysterious woman briefly to watch as Deaton opened up the flesh of one of his chest lacerations wider, started cleaning out the wound. He would live. An hour ago, he didn't think he'd survive the night, but he would live. There was a tomorrow.

He glanced at Zora again. She was typing something into her phone, oblivious to his staring. "Why did you come for me?" he asked for the second time. His mind couldn't make sense of it. None of the others would have come for him – he was sure they'd rather see him dead. _Certain_ they'd rather see him dead, since they put him in that Hell after all. So why should she come? Zora, a veritable stranger to them all, a mysterious woman who breezed into Beacon Hills one night and has been there ever since. She'd come into town looking for the Wild Hunt, asking odd questions, putting the pieces together. She wasn't a supernatural. Wasn't a hunter, either. A bounty hunter of sorts, she'd told Scott's pack, but everyone had their doubts.

Still, she'd proven, with the Wild Hunt, that she was trustworthy – apparently more trustworthy than Theo – and so Scott had let her in, somewhat, to the inner circle.

So she should've been fighting with them. Not coming after Theo. Not saving the one person no one else cared about.

Zora's piercing eyes lifted from her phone, settled on him with almost disturbing attention. Like she knew what he was really asking. "I wasn't going to let you die, Theo. We weren't gonna let anyone die tonight."

"The others wouldn't've cared," he almost growled, but he was so tired. His body was slowly stitching itself back together, his muscles were sore from the fight, head exhausted from so many sleepless days. "They would've let me die."

Zora just shrugged. "I don't know what the others would have done. Just what I would do." And that was that.

000

He didn't remember leaving the animal clinic. Didn't remember Zora ushering him into his truck, since she couldn't take him anywhere on her motorcycle. He _especially_ didn't remember falling asleep in her apartment, on her bed – God, a bed, when was the last time he'd slept in one? – or why the fuck she had even let him do that.

They weren't friends. They barely even knew one another.

So when he blinked his eyes open and shielded them against the blinding mid-afternoon sunlight pouring in through the window, he was disoriented.

"Lay back down," she said, pressing a firm palm against his chest so that his head rested once more on the pillow.

Theo's eyes flickered over to her, squinted up at her form, brows knitted together. "Where am I?"

"My apartment, obviously."

"But _why_?"

Zora gave him a tiny smirk. She walked back towards the kitchen, hips swaying in that way of hers, and pulled a glass out from a cupboard. "You ask that a lot."

After she had filled the glass with water and forced him to drink the entire thing, Theo retorted, "And you never answer."

"Well, I'm not a magic eight ball, so I don't really have all the answers."

"Not even to why you'd bring me back to your apartment?" This time, when he moved to sit up, she didn't stop him. Just folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "'Cause the others might be wondering the same thing. We're not exactly friends, y'know."

"The others don't know you're here."

Of course they didn't. Because, if they did, they'd probably have sent someone over to act as a sentry for Zora. Not that the woman couldn't handle herself, but still. The amount of distrust the pack felt for him was staggering. Like he didn't bleed for the cause, too. So what if it was to save his own skin?

"Look," she said, pulling him out of his brooding thoughts. Wait, when had he taken his shirt off? Did _she_? Not that he minded, but damn, had he been out of it. "You need a place to heal," she pointed at the slow-healing wounds on his chest to make her point. "And I don't think resting up in the back of a pickup truck would do you much good. So how about you stop asking me stupid questions?"

He bristled at that. "I never asked for your help."

"I never said you had to." She turned away from him, dismissing the conversation, and grabbed a jacket off a coatrack hanging by her front door. "I'm gonna grab us some food. Just stay put, okay? Not like you've got someplace better to be."

And she left, leaving Theo to stare at the door, scowl tugging on his lips.

000

When she returned, she found Theo looking through her things – what little she had – half dressed, one hand braced over his ribcage as if to protect his healing wounds from getting any worse.

"Snoop much?" she asked, settling the three bento boxes in her hands on the kitchen table.

Theo just gave her an irritated look. "You're human," he said, but it was some hybrid between a statement and a question. He wasn't even sure why. But he hardly knew anything about her other than that, since she'd been pretty aloof when she'd arrived before the Wild Hunt.

Zora rolled her eyes as she placed cutlery on the table. "Isn't that obvious?"

"What's a human doing meddling in supernatural affairs?"

"What are _you_ doing going through my stuff?"

Sometimes, honesty was the best option. "Trying to figure you out."

That seemed to appease Zora, in some way. She sighed, more to herself than anything, and gestured for Theo to sit at her small dining table. He complied, but mostly because his stomach felt hollow with hunger. When was the last time he ate?

She brought two plates over and placed the bento boxes in the middle of the table. He didn't wait for permission – instead, he popped the tops and dug right in, already finished with his first plate of food by the time Zora sat to join him. She didn't seem annoyed, so he didn't apologize, but kept shoveling food into his mouth until his stomach told him to stop. Zora ate in silence, using her chopsticks more gracefully than anyone he'd ever seen, but kept staring at him out of the corner of her eye. He wouldn't go as far to say it was an uncomfortable silence, but it wasn't companionable either.

"There's not a lot to figure out," she said at last, placing her chopsticks on the table and looking him square in the face. "You know why I'm here."

"For the Wild Hunt," he said, repeating the information he'd gained through Liam weeks ago. "But they're gone now. So why are you still here?"

A shrug, if you could even call it that. Barely a lift of her shoulders. "Nowhere else to go."

He wanted to laugh at that. "So we have something in common."

"More than just that."

The look on his face told her he found that hard to believe.

"I mean it," she went on, frown on her lips. "We have more in common that you think. Guess that's not really a good thing, though."

"Yeah? You watched your sister die, then let three freaks harvest her heart? Or wait – you built a pack of chimeras with the help of 100-some year-old doctors who wanted to revive a fucking Nazi? Am I getting close?"

"Do you ever try a tone other than sarcastic or angry?"

"Others don't seem to suit me."

"You're probably right, you've got that resting bitch face going for you."

Theo rolled his eyes. God, sometimes she reminded him of a female version of Stiles. Poking and prodding and always quick with something to say.

Pulling the conversation back to something less touchy, he asked, "You undressed me?"

"If you consider 'undressed' taking off your bloodied and shredded shirt, then yeah, I guess I did." She didn't look very sheepish about it, other than the slight blush tinting her cheeks. He paused, listened to her heart. It sped up momentarily before returning to normal.

He cracked a smirk. "What's wrong – saw something you liked?" Sitting upright in his chair, he allowed his smirk to grow. He'd yet to put a new shirt on, so his chest was on full display – healing lacerations and all.

Zora's blush deepened, but she held his gaze. "Gosh, what can I say? The sight of a man who had his ass handed to him really gets me." She stood, abruptly, and grabbed their plates. He decided to be of some use and tossed the bento boxes in the trash.

"It was two against one." Okay, his voice was a bit more defensive than he would've liked. "Not really a fair fight."

Zora laughed. "Really? Two humans against a chimera doesn't sound like a fair fight to you?"

"With wolfsbane? Not really."

She looked like she wanted to say something more, to push him on the matter, but seemed to think better of it. Offering an indulgent shrug, she instead placed her hands on his shoulders and guided him back towards her bed.

"That's forward," he quipped. "But I guess you did buy dinner."

Zora rolled her eyes. "You need rest. Deaton said it'll take more time than usual for those wounds to heal. So lay down."

He could feel himself lighten up, some. Because she was showing concern. Because she'd even bothered to save him in the first place. "Fine, but only because I don't mind getting bossed around in bed."

She gave him a long-suffering look. "Don't make me regret bringing you here."

But he could tell, by the way her eyes lingered on him a moment too long, that maybe – just maybe – she really wouldn't. Maybe she was the one person in all of Beacon Hills who didn't regret associating with him at all.

000

The second time Theo woke up in Zora's apartment, he was alone. He knew for sure because the nearest heartbeats came from the next apartment over.

Glancing down at his bare chest, he found the lacerations and the gunshot wound almost completely healed. Honestly, it surprised him that it would even take that long for them to seal up, but he'd been struck with Argent weaponry, so maybe that had something to do with it. Getting out of Zora's bed was easier this time around – no twinges of pain as he sat up, no soreness.

He glanced around the place, noting the blanket hanging over the armrest of the sofa – so that's where she'd slept, last night – then a glass of water, some pain killers, and a note on the kitchen counter. He approached the counter and plucked up the note, skimming it.

 _There's not much to snoop through, but feel free. Had to leave town for a couple of days. Stay as long as you like._

And that was it.

Part of him was disappointed – what, no goodbye? But things would be easier this way. He could return to being the resident pariah of Beacon Hills. Could revert back to the cold and ruthless Theo that hadn't been afraid to die alone.

So he grabbed the clean shirt she'd left for him at the foot of the bed, shrugged it on, and left.

000

 **A/N** : If you liked it, that's awesome, please leave a review. I actually have another chapter typed up that takes places several months after this and reveals more about Zora, so I could always post it. If you didn't like it, sorry! Just an odd project to work on for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

 _Several Months Later_

Zora was sprinting so quickly that it felt like her muscles were tearing in two. Her arms pumped hard at her sides and her eyes were open wide, trying their best to see in the dark of the forest, to leap over fallen logs and dart under branches. Anything that would keep her ahead of the beast.

The werewolf she had tracked back to Beacon Hills turned out to be far deadlier than she first assumed – a possibly fatal mistake, depending on how the next few minutes played out. She could've cursed herself for even returning to the cursed town. Being anywhere near a nematon was always a nightmare for her – why did she think northern California would've made a difference?

The pounding of paws on the ground grew louder behind her – the werewolf was gaining on her, and she was still half a mile away from her bike. Even then, she'd have to scrambled for the keys, kickstart it… Maybe it was time she bought a fucking car. Because, in retrospect, the motorcycle didn't provide much protection in situations like these.

Pain suddenly seared down her back, then briefly on her leg; she could feel her skin split open, blood begin to trickle out. Zora cried out and lost her footing on the uneven forest floor, her knees scraping against the ground first, her hands next as she tried to brace her fall.

 _Fuck_ she thought to herself. _Fucking fuck fuck._

It was just supposed to be a simple mission – get some information, get out. But ever since she went to Beacon Hills – now almost six months ago – nothing was simple anymore.

As she was turning to face her attacker, she saw a clawed hand swipe at her again, and just barely managed to roll out of the way. That would've slashed open her jugular, for sure. Her hands instinctively sought out her daggers, but they were back on her bike. _Foolish. Rookie mistake._ Trying to seduce someone for information had almost always worked for her, but that was just it – _almost_ always.

Improvising, Zora rolled onto her feet and kicked out at the werewolf, her boot-clad foot landing square on its chest, pushing the creature back a good three feet. Her hands came up to guard her face, reverting back to her natural boxing stance as if this was in any way a fair fight, but it was useless. She was weaponless against a bloodthirsty werewolf. None of her training mattered here.

Just as the beast was going to lunge at her with his fangs, a roar ripped through the forest, startling both Zora and the werewolf. His icy blue glowing eyes widened, head cocked, and a snarl tore from his lips. Momentarily dismissing Zora, the beast squared his stance, as if preparing for an oncoming attack.

Zora strained to hear something, anything, come towards them, but couldn't make anything out over the sound of her pounding heart. A wild animal, maybe, a fluke. Not someone who could keep the inevitable from happening. She was dead and she knew it.

But then, fast as a flash of lightning, a wolf darted out of the brush, its snarls harsh and angry, as it pounced on the werewolf. She saw blood before she saw anything else – the wolf had literally just ripped open the throat of the werewolf, or was she imagining that? The black-furred creature mauled the beast that had intended to kill Zora a moment longer, before its snarls finally subsided.

She watched, breath caught in her lungs, as the animal turned towards her, its eyes glowing a dim amber, something about them familiar…

The creature morphed. One moment, a black wolf stood before her, the next Theo fucking Raekin was crouched down, completely and utterly naked, blood staining his mouth and his eyes locked fast onto Zora's.

"Jesus _fuck_ ," she cursed, not really sure where to look first. At his mouthwatering arms, his incredible chest, or the blood coating soft, plush lips?

Fucking hell, why did it have to be Theo Raekin, of all the werewolves in Beacon Hills?

He stood to his full height, clearly unabashed having all of his manbits on display, and looked Zora over with a quick and calculating eye. She couldn't discern whether he was about to attack her, too, forcing her muscles to remain coiled up, her hands sprawled in the dirt.

She was certain she looked like quite the sight. Wearing next to nothing – it was disappointing, really, that her target hadn't liked her miniskirt, but whatever – dirt smudged on her face, probably in her hair, and blood staining the forest floor beneath her.

"You're hurt," Theo finally said, taking one step, then two closer to her, until he could crouch down and assess her wounds better. But before he could even touch the shredded skin on her leg, Zora inched away from him.

He half rolled his eyes, half smirked. "What, afraid of me now?"

"I dunno," Zora said honestly. "Kill anyone in cold blood lately?"

A scowl appeared on his lips. "You saw my eyes."

He was right. They were still golden. Zora allowed herself to relax a moment longer, pretending she was only nervous to see him because of that.

"True," she allowed. "Guess you can never really be sure, though." It was _so hard_ to maintain eye contact with him when he was crouched there, in all his naked glory. Honestly, if she just canted her head down, just a little bit, she was certain she'd get an eyeful. And maybe not stop looking. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

"That werewolf was supposed to give me some information," she said, then gave him a pointed look. _Tit for tat_ , it said.

He smirked at her. "I was driving by. Recognized your heartbeat. Heard _that werewolf_ chasing after you."

"So you decided to be my knight in shining armor?"

Something about that comment seemed to peeve him, but he gritted out, "I decided I was curious enough to stop."

"Well thank Jesus for that. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I'd be vulture food."

"The coyotes would've gotten to your first."

Zora managed a glare. "How reassuring." Then, as it just occurred to her: "You can recognize someone's heartbeat?"

"Sometimes," was all he said. He looked back at the shredded skin on her leg, the blood seeping out. One warm hand reached out to tilt Zora to the side slightly, giving him a moment to peer at the slash down her back. "Think you can walk?"

Zora tried shoving to her feet, only to be met with sharp, stabbing pain in both her lower back and leg. _"Fuck_ ," she growled, glaring at the visible wound.

Not a second passed until Theo scooped her up in his arms – God, those arms – careful not to irritate her leg, and pressed her close to his chest. His bare, naked chest. Zora squealed and squirmed in place, shoving at his pecs. "Oh God – please let me down. Let me down!"

Her shoving didn't do any good. He was a chimera, after all. "You can't even stand," he said reasonably. "Calm the fuck down."

"Calm down? You're _naked_!"

At that, he grinned. "You didn't seem to have much of a problem with that the last time I saw you."

"That was different. You were wearing pants!"

Theo just shook his head. "Look, you can't walk and we're stuck in the middle of the fucking forest. So just shut up until we get back to my truck. Okay?"

Was there really any choice? Reluctantly, she looped her arms around Theo's neck and held herself closer to him, hoping that would maybe make the process of carrying her somewhat easier. As he walked towards wherever he'd left his truck, Zora pinched her eyes shut and tried _very hard_ not to think about the firm muscle she was pressed against.

Alas, she was just a woman.

000

"You're not homeless anymore?"

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best way to go about asking, but Zora wasn't exactly known for being the most tactful human being ever. Theo shot her a look of annoyance, but shook his head.

"Nah. I've had this place for a few months now."

"A few months?" Sheesh. "Have I really been gone that long?"

"Do you really need someone else to answer that?"

"I didn't think you'd be bitter about it. What, wanted a good-bye kiss?" Ooh, she shouldn't have said that, but honestly, Zora had a sort of disease. She couldn't help but say the most aggravating thing she could think of.

Theo's glare, the strange light in those blue-green eyes of his, made her stomach flip-flop uncomfortably. Luckily he was dressed now, having placed her in the passenger seat and then pulled on pants and a shirt, because otherwise she was certain that look and his gorgeous body would have sent her over the edge.

He pulled the keys from the ignition and stepped out of the truck, quickly rounding to her side to open the door for her. He moved to pick her up again, but Zora shrunk away from him once more, face pinched in annoyance. "I can try to walk," she insisted.

The eyebrow he raised at her could only be described as skeptical. Still, he gave a haughty flourish of his hands, daring her to test her shredded leg.

What Theo didn't know about Zora was that she would _always_ accept a dare. So she scooted to the edge of the seat – painful, already, because the slash running along her back was starting to burn horribly – and tested putting weight on her leg.

Of course Theo saw through her attempt to mask her pain. He stepped towards her again, expectant and smug. "Just let me carry you."

Zora huffed. Normally, she'd be the first person to let a hot guy carry her around. But when that guy was Theo Raekin… it messed with her.

"Fine," she said, despite the voice in her head shrieking _no_. The hell was she supposed to do anyway, sit in his truck all night?

Smirking, Theo gingerly wrapped one arm underneath her knees, the other under her lower back, being as careful as possible to not upset her wounds further. Still, it couldn't be entirely avoided, and when his forearm brushed against the laceration near her spine, her arms tightened around his neck, as if to hold herself closer to him to keep away from the pain.

"Sorry," he mumbled, sounding not very sorry at all, as he kicked the door shut and turned towards the apartment building. They were in downtown Beacon Hills, west of the river, near the luxury apartments.

Zora blinked as he pushed his way into the lobby and knocked the button for the elevator with his elbow. "How'd you manage to get a place like this?"

He stared at the elevator doors as he replied. "I do some jobs here and there."

"Doesn't sound like those would be legal jobs."

In response, he merely smiled. "Not always."

A _ding_ signaled that the elevator had arrived; as soon as the doors slid open, Theo stepped on and nudged the button for the top floor.

 _Oh, so he's got a fancy place, then._ She wanted to sigh. Of course he did.

Five minutes later, she was relieved to be placed on a large leather sofa, out of Theo's arms and able to relax back into the cushions as much as her wounds allowed her. _Fuck_ they were burning, pulsating with pain. She'd had worse, of course, but this wasn't good. The wound on her leg might hole her up for a couple of days, maybe even a week.

Theo disappeared into a room briefly, returning with a small red bag in hand.

"Chimeras keep first-aid kits on hand?" Zora asked skeptically, watching as he unzipped the bag and crouched down in front of her.

He shrugged. Ugh, now that she'd been so close to the muscles underneath his shirt, she could even imagine the way they'd lift with the movement. "This chimera does."

"Oo-kay, then."

When he reached out to grab her leg, Zora flinched away. "I can do it myself."

"I'm sure you can, but I'm trying to be nice for a rare change, so maybe just let me."

Meh, that was true. She debated denying him, but seeing Theo Raekin be nice? He was right. That was basically a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Just don't fuck it up worse than it already is." Then she lifted her leg for him, allowing his large hands to wrap around it.

"Glad you have so much faith in me."

Fixing him with a pointed stare, Zora said, "Well, I guess you have _some_ medical experience, considering you carved your sister's heart from her chest."

His hand tightened on her thigh, and she only just remembered that she was wearing a mini-skirt and he was likely getting an eyeful of her black, lacy thong. _Serves him right_ , she thought, remembering his bare chest, his muscles.

"Let's get something straight," Theo said in a terse voice. "I didn't cut her heart out. The Doctors did. Got it?"

Zora rolled her eyes dramatically. "Now I have significantly less confidence in your medical abilities."

Instead of deigning to reply, he shifted her leg in his palms yet again – goddamn, his hands were warm, the calluses on his palms creating a distracting friction against her skin – and angled it so he could get a better look at the cut running from almost the back of her knee up her thigh. "It's deep," he said, "but not too deep. Didn't hit anything major, so you're lucky. Probably gonna need stitches, though."

Ugh. She hated needles. "You ever stitch _anything_ before?"

"I'm a fast learner."

"Awesome."

As he worked on her leg, Zora did her best to distract herself from stinging antiseptic he rubbed over the wound, the way he commanded her to rest her foot on his shoulder so he could have better access (and likely a better view of her ass), the needle working in and out of her skin. She _hated_ needles. So she stared at his face, pinched in concentration as he did his best to follow the Youtube tutorial on basic stitching, concentrated on the warm hand that held the back of her leg up, dangerously close to the hem of her skirt. The only thing that would make this situation ten times better would be him, shirtless, stitching her up – there'd be a _lot_ to distract herself with, then.

He glanced up at her briefly, a suspicious look in his eye as if he could read her thoughts, and she realized with some embarrassment that he could probably hear her heartbeat speed up. Fuck. Cut it out, Z. You can't be crushing on someone like Theo fucking Raekin.

Finally, he snipped the end of the thread with a pair of scissors and tied the end, looking over his handiwork with a critical eye. "Done. Try not to tear them."

Then he pulled her forward gently, lifting the hem of her sweater to get a better look at the cut down her spine. At his frown, Zora scowled. "Please don't tell me I need more stitches."

The look he sent her was a definite _yes_.

"Fuck me," she cursed, sighing. Theo chuckled a bit at her choice of words before motioning to her.

"You're gonna need to take your shirt off."

"I _need_ to or you _want_ me to?"

He rolled his eyes. "You _need_ to because I _want_ it out of the way."

"What about my bra?"

"Leave it. The laceration goes just below it. Should be fine."

"Well thank you Jesus. Thought things were about to get steamy in here."

A smirk. "As if."

Zora tried lifting the sweater over her head, only to wince as it pulled at the broken skin too much. She glared at a patch of carpet in front of her. God hated her. He hated her, because why else would she need to ask Theo to help her get her shirt off?

He was grinning at her when she glanced up at him, her face a mixture of helplessness and anger. What a smug bastard. "A little help, here?"

"With what?" he asked innocently. Innocent didn't work well for him.

Ugh, she was going to make him pay.

"You _know_ what."

"I don't – something the matter?"

"Don't be coy, you fucking bastard," she snarled at him, irritated that he was taking such joy from her misery. "Help me get my shirt off."

"Thought you'd never ask." He stepped closer to her, so close she could feel the heat wafting off of his body, and slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt. Warm fingers brushed her ribs; Zora had to bite the inside of her cheek to remain quiet. Finally, he pulled the piece of clothing upward, maneuvering her arms from it, until she sat in just her lacy black bra.

He glanced at the bra, eyes sparkling with mirth. "What, thought you were gonna have a hot date with the werewolf that wanted to kill you?"

"I _thought_ seducing him would go better than it did."

He laughed and grabbed the needle again, rethreading it. "I guess that explains the miniskirt. And thong."

Oh, so he had glanced up her skirt? Honestly, she wasn't surprised. Wasn't even embarrassed. "Saw something you liked?" She was pretty sure that was an exact echo of his words from several months ago, when she'd dragged him into her apartment to heal.

The expression on his face confirmed this. "Yeah, you got me – the sight of a woman who had her ass handed to her gets me going."

"Aha! I knew it. You kinky fucker."

Rolling his eyes, he placed one hand on her shoulder. "You need to sit forward some. And hold still."

"I _am_ holding still."

"You're breathing too hard."

"It's called just breathing normally."

"It's not. Your heartrate's elevated. Something making you nervous?" The arrogance in his tone made Zora bristle. Her hair tickled the back of her neck as he pushed it to the side.

"Yeah. Turning my back to you makes me a little nervous. Maybe you need another organ harvested and I'm a convenient donor."

"Nah, I've got all the organs I need, at the moment. And you know I can tell when you're lying, right?"

"Just shut up and start stitching."

He did as he was told, thank god, because she didn't want to keep verbally sparring with him. But now she felt more vulnerable – her back to him, his hands gently probing her wound, his breath ghosting her neck. Fucking hell. Again, she wondered why Theo Raekin, of all the werewolves in Beacon Hills, had to be the one to find her.

"So how'd you get your ass handed to you by an omega?" he wondered aloud, breaking up the silence that had settled over them. Zora was glad for it – she hated the sound of the needle breaking her skin open, however minute and nearly silent it was, however much she was likely just imagining it herself. "Thought you were supposed to be a badass fighter."

"You _know_ I'm a badass fighter," she reminded him, "since I saved your ass, once. I just didn't realize I needed my weapons on me tonight. Thought my other assets would do all the work."

"He was gay."

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes. "I figured that out pretty quickly."

"You said you were trying to get information from him."

Ugh, so he recalled that tidbit. "I did indeed say that."

"Not gonna explain further?"

Her silence was enough of an answer.

"You were gone for three and a half months," he pointed out, but Zora couldn't quite figure out what he was accusing her of.

Tossing him a look over her shoulder, she cocked a brow. "You were paying such close attention?"

He glared. "Hard to not notice you went missing when Scott and his pack went looking for you for days. They came after me first, y'know. Heard from Deaton that you were with me last. So what, didn't wanna return their calls?"

"I was busy."

Clearly, he was skeptical of this, but Zora didn't quite care. Besides, she had a feeling that Theo thought she was closer with Scott and his pack than she really was. Maybe because they'd accepted her help willingly and his reluctantly, when the Wild Hunt rode into town.

"Speaking of Scott – he leave town already? Is everyone still here?"

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Theo shake his head. "Nah. He went off to Davis. Lydia to Stanford. Stilinski back to the FBI. Town's pretty empty, now."

Zora smirked at him. "You must _love_ having all of Liam's attention now, huh?"

"For not wanting me in his pack," Theo grumbled, already half way done with the stitches, "the kid sure comes around a lot. Always thinks there's some new mystery to solve."

"He looks up to you," Zora pointed out. "You helped him learn to control his anger. Not even Scott managed that."

Surprise crossed the chimera's face briefly, before he covered it up. His eyes refocused on his work, his lips pressed together in concentration as he made to finish. Zora stared at him with some sadness – Theo probably hadn't been praised for anything in a really long time.

Of course, she'd heard multiple times from Scott and his pack _why_ Theo wasn't exactly the most popular guy in Beacon Hills. An armchair-diagnosed sociopath, a kid who had watched his sister die and did nothing to help her, who had pressured a man and a woman to act as his parents and threatened to torture them if they didn't comply… Yeah, he wasn't exactly going to win any popularity awards. But still, Zora didn't really judge him for any of that. How could she? She was nearly as fucked up.

She hadn't even realized he'd finished the stitches until he said, while he was putting the needle and threat away in the first aid kit, "Don't look at me like that." It was spoken with such anger, such passion… Zora blinked in surprise, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Like what?"

"You know what." His back was to her now, the broad, strong muscles of his shoulders evident through the thin fabric of his shirt. "I don't need anyone's pity."

"Never said I pitied you."

"Your eyes said differently."

Heaving a sigh, Zora tried sitting back into the couch gingerly. "Fine. Whatever." Then she glanced at the clock hanging above a lamp across the room, reading _1:34_. "Ugh – shit. My bike's still near the trailhead."

She made to stand, but Theo was at her side in an instant, forcing her back into the cushions. "What, think you can go get it right now? You can hardly walk."

"I'll manage. You stopped the bleeding and stitched it all up."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I'd rather you not need me to stitch it up again. Just give me your keys."

Silence. Zora stared up at the chimera, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Her bike was the only thing she really had, the only piece of her from her old life she had held on to. _No one_ ever drove is aside from her, because she simply didn't trust anyone with it. It was too precious. But leaving it at the trailhead…

Sensing her apprehension, Theo added, "Look, I know how to drive it. I'll bring it back here. Park it right out front."

Rubbing a hand over her face, Zora sighed. "Fine. The keys… they're in my jacket."

Theo cocked his head. "You weren't wearing a jacket."

" _Fuck_." Burying her face in her hands, Zora groaned. "It's in the fucking forest. _Fucking fuck_. You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Theo exhaled a long sigh and dragged his fingers through his hair. "All right. I know your scent – I'll find it. Be back as soon as I can." He made for the door, but stopped halfway there and glanced back at Zora. Then he turned on his heel and marched towards her, clearly determined to do _something_.

Zora wanted to flinch away from him again, but three times in one night would probably go beyond bruising a guy's ego, and this wasn't just a _guy_ , this was a chimera. She looked up at him warily. "What are you doing?"

"Moving you to my bed."

"Uh… Don't I get a say in that?"

He scooped her up for the third time that night. "No."

God, this man was such an arrogant ass. She didn't even wrap her arms around his neck this time – let him struggle with her extra weight. Except he didn't struggle, at all, which was even more annoying. He walked them down a long hallway and nudged open the door on the right, revealing a large bedroom furnished in black, white, and navy blue.

Her jaw dropped open at the sight of the bed. King sized and heavenly looking – god, when was the last time she'd laid in something that looked so fucking comfortable? She'd been living out of motels for far too long, now…

As he settled her on it, he gave her a shit-eating grin. "Sit and stay. That's an order."

"I don't take orders from you," she snapped, even though she was already sinking into the bed, the wonderful mattress.

"You'll learn to."

Her heart fluttered at that – Godddd. It was going to be a long night.

000

Zora didn't dare fall asleep while the chimera was away. For one, she was worried about her bike, like a mother would worry over her child. For another, she was way too curious about Theo, and took to analyzing as much as she could about him despite being stuck on the bed, unable to get up and move around.

It struck her, then and there, that this night was an almost equal and opposite repeat of what had happened when she brought Theo back to her home. He'd been the one who was injured, snooping through her things, trying to figure her out. And now here she was, stuck in his bed, eager to get a look at something, anything, that might give her any idea what the real Theo Raekin was actually like.

There wasn't much to see, sadly, without walking around. The walls were bare save for a single painting hanging over the bed behind her, and she couldn't pull any information off that except that he had good taste in abstracts. His room was eerily clean, as if he didn't have a lot of personal effects to dirty it up with. She turned to the bedside table and yanked open the drawer, happy to find _something_ – a weathered copy of Dante's _Inferno_ , which she immediately plucked from the drawer and started skimming through.

That was how he found her an hour later. His hair was wet, so she assumed it was raining outside, and his cheeks were rosy from the cool air. Her leather jacket hung over one of his arms, her bike's keys clutched in his hand.

"So you managed to get the keys," Zora said, relief heady in her tone. "Thank God."

"Thank _me_ ," Theo grumbled, tossing her jacket and keys on the bed. "Do you know how hard it was to find your jacket?"

"You're half werewolf, half were-coyote. I'm sure it wasn't _that_ hard."

Theo shoved a hand through his hair, making his dark locks stick up at various angles. "It was raining. Your scent was getting washed away."

Rolling her eyes, Zora sat up straighter and offered Theo her most winsome smile. "Then, thank you, Theo Raekin. My bike means more to me than you can possibly imagine. So thank you."

He seemed momentarily taken aback by her genuine tone, having clearly expecting nothing but sarcasm from her. Uncomfortable now, he just nodded. "I'm gonna take a shower. You should sleep."

"Sounds like another order."

"It is," he said, walking towards his closet whilst yanking his t-shirt up and over his head. Ughhhh. Why couldn't he be ugly? He smirked over his shoulder at her, probably hearing her heartrate pick up again. "Something wrong?"

"Just that I'm stuck with an arrogant ass for the next who-knows-how-long."

"At least you've gotta good view, right?"

Zora returned her eyes to _Inferno_. "Yes, the painting's quite nice. Did you pick it out yourself?"

He laughed out loud at that, and Zora was surprised. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him genuinely laugh. "I did," he admitted, now walking towards the en suite bathroom. "Guess I'm more than just a pretty face." He disappeared, closing the door behind him. A moment later, Zora heard the shower turn on.

She brought the book up to her face to cover her burning cheeks. Maybe it would be better to sleep, after all.

 **A/N:** Please review if you liked!


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